"It was very revealing, and I didn’t know that! I had only had two fittings with [designer] Sandy Spika -- one was at our office, and I said, ‘I think you need to fill some more stuff in!’" McEntire recalls to People. "When I put it on in the dressing room at the Grand Ole Opry for the show, I thought, ‘Maybe it’s just the lighting in here.’ And when I walked out on the stage, I heard the audience go ‘Oooooh!’ And I thought, ‘Dang, I look good!'”

McEntire wore that dress to perform "Does He Love You," her duet with Linda Davis; as Vince Gill, who was hosting that year's awards show, recalls "everybody gasped!"

"I mean, Reba is a beautiful woman, but she’s like your sis! She is to me,” adds Gill. “But what’s great about that moment was that it was unexpected out of Reba.”

McEntire has often mentioned that her father teased her about the dress after the show, asking if she'd accidentally worn it backwards, but she admits that the daring fashion choice had its benefits.

“I didn’t win an award," McEntire jokes, "but I did make the front page of the paper the next day!”

The 2018 CMA Awards are scheduled to air on ABC on Nov. 14, at 8PM ET; the ceremony will take place live at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will co-host the ceremony for the 11th year in a row.